The moment of truth is fast approaching. If the TV writers' strike persists into the new year, the networks won't just be loading up with reruns. They'll be packing their schedules with reality shows, from standbys like "American Idol" and "Deal or No Deal" to a host of new shows that prove, where reality TV is concerned, there's nothing new under the sun. Not everything is scheduled yet, raising faint hope that some of these won't see the light of primetime. But here's a sneak peek at what could be on the way, divided into handy categories. - JOANNA WEISS
'American Idol' clones
DANCE WARS: BRUNO VS. CARRIE ANN
Network: ABC
Premieres: Jan. 7
Deja vu: "American Idol," "Dancing With the Stars"
Concept: Two teams of aspiring singer/dancers have a dance-off.
Repurposed star: Host Drew Lachey ("Dancing With the Stars")
Forecast: Complete, embarrassing failure earns you a score of "8."
CLASH OF THE CHOIRS
Network: NBC
Premieres: Dec. 17
Deja vu: Every singing contest ever conceived
Concept: Five celebrity choir directors coach groups of singers in a four-night belt-off.
Repurposed stars: Patti LaBelle, Nick Lachey, Blake Shelton, Michael Bolton, Kelly Rowland
Forecast: LaBelle vs. Lachey? Um, contest over.
Game shows
AMERICAN GLADIATORS
Network: NBC
Premieres: Jan. 6
Deja vu: "American Gladiators"
Repurposed stars: Laila Ali ("Dancing With the Stars"), Hulk Hogan
Concept: Regular folk battle against action stars.
Forecast: Launches a new spandex fashion craze.
DUEL
Network: ABC
Premieres: Dec. 17
Deja vu: "World Series of Poker"
Repurposed star: Host Mike Greenberg (ESPN)
Concept: Contestants use poker chips to bluff while answering trivia questions.
Forecast: It's better than "Full House" reruns.
DO YOU TRUST ME?
Network: CBS
Deja vu: "Who Do You Trust?"
Repurposed star: Host Tucker Carlson ("Dancing With the Stars")
Concept: Strangers bet on their mutual trust.
Forecast: Carlson does more talking than dancing. Fortunately.
HERE COME THE NEWLYWEDS
Network: ABC
Premieres: TBD
Deja vu: "The Newlywed Game"
Concept: The old getting-to-know-you game, featuring an arranged marriage, a pair of high school sweethearts, and a couple of divorces.
Forecast: It's from the team that developed the never-aired "Welcome to the Neighborhood." So it's bound to be really classy.
WANNA BET?
Network: ABC
Premieres: TBD
Deja vu: "Fear Factor," "MXC"
Hosts: Ant and Dec, two British hosts
Concept: Contestants bet on whether they can perform outrageous stunts.
Forecast: Those British hosts won't ever make fun of the contestants.
MILLION DOLLAR PASSWORD
Network: CBS
Premieres: TBD
Deja vu: "Password," "25,000 Pyramid"
Repurposed star: Host Regis Philbin
Concept: Celebrities join with regular folks to guess a secret word.
Forecast: The term "celebrity" will be used loosely. Maybe we haven't seen the last of the cast of "Facts of Life."
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
Network: Fox
Premieres: Jan. 23
Deja vu: "Meet the Parents"
Repurposed star: Host Mark L. Walberg ("Antiques Roadshow," "Temptation Island")
Concept: Contestants are strapped to a lie detector and asked personal questions.
Forecast: Most-lied-about answer will be "Do you like your mother-in-law?"
AMNESIA
Network: NBC
Premieres: TBD
Deja vu: "This Is Your Life"
Repurposed star: Host Dennis Miller
Concept: Contestants win money by remembering details from their own lives.
Forecast: Miller forgets that he was once really funny.
MY DAD IS BETTER THAN YOUR DAD
Network: NBC
Premieres: TBD
Deja vu: "Family Feud," "Double Dare"
Concept: Dads helm teams that compete in goofy challenges.
Forecast: The dads get waaay more competitive than the kids. Pulled muscles ensue.
Social engineering
OPRAH'S BIG GIVE
Network: ABC
Premieres: TBD
Deja vu: "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," "Pay It Forward"
Concept: Oprah Winfrey enlists other people to give away lesser fortunes.
Forecast: Bring your hankies to the couch.
WHEN WOMEN RULE THE WORLD
Network: Fox
Premieres: March 3
Deja vu: "Survivor," "Kid Nation"
Concept: Alpha women order a group of men around in a remote paradise.
Forecast: This is not the sort of publicity Hillary Clinton wants.
CROWNED: THE MOTHER OF ALL PAGEANTS
Network: CW
Premieres: Dec. 12
Deja vu: "The Pussycat Dolls Present," "Flavor of Love"
Concept: Mother-daughter teams compete while living together in a posh mansion.
Forecast: Destined to make Joan Crawford look like Donna Reed.
FARMER WANTS A WIFE
Network: CW
Premieres: TBD
Deja vu: "The Bachelor"
Concept: This bachelor is a wheat-chawing country guy!
Forecast: Plenty of jokes about cow manure.
